


Cracking Down on Corruption

by writtenFIRES



Category: Real Person Fiction, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Crossover, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, and some grumps, shameless rip of a beloved su song, there's singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-01
Updated: 2017-02-01
Packaged: 2018-09-21 09:50:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9542411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writtenFIRES/pseuds/writtenFIRES
Summary: Mark slips up.





	

**Author's Note:**

> **IT IS HIGHLY SUGGESTED YOU GO AND READ "QUARTZ FOR DUMMIES" BEFORE READING THIS STORY.**
> 
> So this, like my other crossover YouTubers/Steven Universe story, comes as a result of the content on [THIS BLOG.](http://crystal-grumps.tumblr.com/)
> 
> You can probably find a majority of my inspiration for this fic- and various reference points- in the [mark tag](http://crystal-grumps.tumblr.com/tagged/mark/chrono). Goopy Chica should be in there as well. Check the end notes for extra HC's!
> 
> Please note I really don't know the Game Grumps all that well, which is why I've funneled their presence down to the bare minimum. Forgive me if either Danny or Barry seem OOC.
> 
> And yes, I adjusted _"Love Like You"_ to be the healing song. I did something similar in the other story I wrote for this verse, which could sort of count as a prequel to this one? I'd call this story more of a spiritual successor than anything else, really. I've had it on my Tumblr for ages and just completely forgot to upload it here. XD But since Quartz for Dummies has been getting some attention, I figured it's time.
> 
> **Note: When the singing starts, Mark is in bold. Danny is _italics_.**

They weren’t supposed to find out.

Mark _knew_ they’d never let him keep them all. Even if he could keep _one_ , it wouldn’t be worth losing the rest. Each of them had a life and personality all their own. Personalities too big and _real_ to be bubbled away forever in some dusty room. Oh, Mark knew what the Grumps did to corrupted gems.

He’d nearly been in that room himself.

So he hid them all away in his own little sanctuary. The kindergarten no one bothered to visit except for Barry (and on occasion one of the gems that _didn’t_ hate him; like Kevin or Danny). They were safe and happy there. Plenty of space to run around and play with each other where nothing could harm them.

Well, except each other. But corrupted gems were surprisingly sturdy and Mark hadn’t experienced any real issues beyond the occasional accidental poofing.

Until now.

Sobbing, distraught, _desperate_ in a way he hadn’t been since that day Barry realized who he was; that he’d returned to Earth and didn’t need to be bubbled. He cradled a cracked, oval gem in his hands as he launched himself onto the warp pad at the edge of his kindergarten. It glinted with brilliant streaks of red and pink as the gemstone beneath his feet hesitated. Mark cursed and rammed his heel into the reflective surface. “FUCKING WORK!!!”

There was a bit of static, but then he was being transported away in a beam of light. The warp pads were a little finicky with him. Probably because the corruption had never been fully “healed”; only contained by Danny’s song. But it worked with a little convincing and Mark had no time to make the necessary journey on foot. He needed to get to the temple. _**Now.**_

Blessedly, seconds later he was there. Mark didn’t even take a second to see who was currently there. He was shouting thru his tears before his foot fully left the warp pad. “DANNY!!! DAN!! Dan, Dan please!! I need Dan! Where is he?! DAN?!?!” In his frenzy, Mark had made almost two laps around the house before a strong hand caught his shoulder. He narrowly avoided falling on his ass from the abrupt stop and whipped his head around. “Dan-?!”

“Woah. Woah. Mark. Mark, dude, hold on. Calm down before you break something.” _Like yourself._ “What’s going on?”

It was Barry. Oh thank Diamonds. If there was any other gem Mark could run into besides Danny, it would be His Diamond. He choked on another sob and snuffled pathetically as he clutched the gem pieces close to his chest. “M-My Diamond-”

“Barry. I told you, it’s just _Barry_. Seriously.”

“Barry!! B-Barry, I need Dan, where’s Dan? I-I, it’s important, I need him right away, I need him to heal-”

“Wait, what? ‘Heal’? You didn’t crack your gem, did you??”

Barry’s concern as he peered closer at Mark’s gem was touching. He hiccuped from all the emotion, but no amount of affection and admiration could soldier through his panic. “N-no, no, shit no Barry look, it’s not me. It’s just- this gem, I need it fixed, please Barry you have to help me find Dan!! _Please!!_ ” Mark was practically wailing. He felt miserable and pathetic, sniffling there in front of His Diamond, but Barry didn’t admonish him for it.

The larger gem merely sighed and gave Mark’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Okay. Okay. I’ll go find Danny. He’s probably just in his room. Hang on.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you thank you thank you _My Diamond-_ ”

“Barry!!”

_“-Barry, thank you!!”_ Mark watched Barry’s retreating back for a moment, then dropped his gaze when the other went out of sight. Slowly, he peeled apart his hands. The sight of the cracked, corrupted gem resting in his palms triggered fresh tears to well up in his purple eyes. The lavender droplets fell to his open palms but did nothing to repair the damaged gem. He sniffled again. “Chicaaa…. Chica, Chica-bica, it’s okay. It’s okay, Chica, I-I’m gonna fix you. I’m gonna get you help, it’s okay, he’s coming. I’m gonna help you, _I promise._ Please….” His voice cracked into a soft, pitiful whine.

“Holy Homeworld what happened here? I haven’t seen him this distraught since we almost bubbled him.” That was Danny’s voice. Danny! Barry had found him!

“I don’t know. He won’t give me any details; just keeps babbling about needing you to repair a gem-”

“It’s not _his_ gem, is it??”

“No, his gem looked fine. I don’t know _whose_ gem it is.”

They were talking about him, but for once Mark didn’t care. He didn’t care, because Danny was entering the living area with Barry and Danny was going to fix Chica. He’d have his little gooperschnoop back. Nearly tripping on his own feet in his haste, Mark approached Danny so fast he could have sent them _both_ sprawling. Without hesitation, he opened his hands again to shove the cracked gem into Danny’s face. “Dan!! Dan, please, you _have_ to help her. I need you to sing, please, I’ve seen you heal cracks before. I _know_ you can do it. Please, fuck, I-I can’t- I don’t-”

“Fucking shit Mark calm down. Let me see.” Danny peered down at the odd gem, then jerked back with wide eyes. “Oh fuck. Barry. That thing’s _corrupted_. It’s cracked, too, but it’s definitely corrupted. We need to-”

“No no no! No, no listen, she’s fine. It’s _fine_. You don’t need to bubble _anyone_. I promise. She won’t hurt anybody. I just. Need you. _To fix her._ ” The words spilled free without Mark’s full consent, but he _couldn’t_ let them bubble Chica. He’d never get her back. There were still tears prickling at the corners of his eyes; face smeared with snot and dirt from the kindergarten. Silently, he pleaded with the two gems; with eyes, body language, expression. Everything he had.

Danny and Barry exchanged concerned glances. Barry made a shrugging gesture. Danny sighed and turned back to Mark. “If this thing poofs us, it’s your fault, Barry. But fine. Give it here, Mark.” He sounded less than enthused about the idea, but Mark trusted Barry. So he tentatively let the cracked gem slide into blue hands.

“Please be careful with her….”

Danny sent him an odd look but shook it off. “I don’t know if this’ll work. I’ve never tried healing a crack on a _corrupted_ gem before. I know I won’t be able to heal a full corruption like this, even if I _do_ fix the physical damage….” He quirked a brow at Mark, as if that fact would change his mind on the matter. Mark just stared resolutely at the gem without saying a single word. Danny sighed again. “All right, here goes something…” What should he even sing to a corrupted, cracked gem? It sure seemed awful important to Mark. Closing his eyes, he let the words flow thru him.

_“If you could begin to do_   
_Half of what he thinks of you,_   
_You could do about anything,_   
_You could even learn how to love.”_

At first, it was just song. But the longer Dan sang, the stronger and more potent the words became. Until they were practically visible in how they danced in the air alongside the notes. They curled recklessly around the three gems before swirling in a concentration of faded blue down into the fourth gem Danny held in his hands.

_“When I see the way you act,_   
_Wondering when they’re coming back,_   
_I could do about anything,_   
_I could even learn how to love like you.”_

Danny had chosen the right words. He could feel it in his gem as it glowed a soft blue beneath his cupped hands. The fractured gem was trembling against his fingers while his singing forced its way inside. Stirred up the split pieces and coaxed them back together. He hoped it was working.

_“If you could begin to do_   
_Half of what he thinks of you,_   
_You could do about anything,_   
_You could even learn how to love like him.”_

Danny’s brow furrowed with concentration. The gem was resisting. But it might have just been the corruption. It felt like the crack was responding. He put more force into his song.

**_“Love, like him…”_ **

He startled at the sound of another voice joining his, but managed to maintain his rhythm. As he picked up the next lines, he realized he knew the voice. Though he’d never heard it used in song before.

Mark had a lovely baritone.

_**“I always thought I might be bad,** _   
_**Now I’m sure that it’s true** _   
_But I think you’re so good_   
_**No, I’m nothing like you.** _

_**Look at you go,** _   
_You just adore them,_   
_**I wish that I knew** _   
_What makes you think I’m so special”_

The two gems sang in tandem with each other. Neither had meant for the song to get so personal, but these things just came naturally more often than not. The important thing was Danny could tell the gem was healing. Maybe Mark was actually resonating with him and increasing his abilities. Barry, to the side, remained silent and just watched the events unfold.

_**“If I could begin to do** _   
_**Something that does right by you,** _   
_You would do about anything,_   
_You would even learn how to love._

_**When I see the way you look.** _   
_Shaken by how long it took,_   
_I could do about anything,_   
_**I could even learn how to love like you.** _

_Love like you…_

_**Love me like you.”** _

Mark closed out the song, and both gems opened their eyes. The Amethyst almost started crying again with joy when he looked down to find the little oval perfectly whole again- if still corrupted. Mark didn’t care. He was babbling his thanks and appreciation to Danny in a constant stream that could barely be understood. Danny was smiling and trying to process everything that had just happened. Both failed to realize the gem in Danny’s hands had started to glow.

Barry didn’t. “DANNY, _DROP IT._ ” The Diamond slapped the gem out of Danny’s hands but it was already producing a form before it even hit the floor. For a brief moment the brilliant light took on a vaguely humanoid shape. Then it fizzled, warped, and morphed into something monstrous.

When the light dispersed there was a four-legged beast standing quite happily in the middle of the house. She easily rose up to Mark’s waist. The design appeared somewhat canine, but the corrupted gem was ceaselessly oozing some kind of goo that shimmered messily from orange to pink to red and every shade in-between. Four large, red eyes stared up at them. As the creature’s gaze settled on Mark, its stringy tail of goo set to wagging. The only part of the gem that remained solid besides her eyes was a stark white, crystalline neck. It crackled every time she moved her head; oval gem glinting clearly upon her forehead. She let loose a distorted bark.

“Chica!! Oh, Chica-bica, my little nugget, you’re back! You’re okay! Oh, don’t you ever, _ever_ scare me like that again, you hear?? No more cliff-diving! I don’t care if you see a _hundred_ bunnies! Understand?!” Mark knelt down to admonish the gem, but the relief and affection were obvious in his voice. The gem, “Chica”, let loose another bark and then threw herself onto the Amethyst. Mark immediately became coated with goo while she eagerly licked at his face. He spluttered. “Chica!! Chica no, Chica down, down nugget, fuck-”

“Mark.”

The happy reunion was put on hold as Barry’s stern tone finally cut in. Mark stilled, hands holding Chica at bay, and looked up to His Diamond anxiously. He recognized that tone from millennia ago. “…yes, My Diamond?”

Another sigh, but that was probably because Mark hadn’t called him Barry again. Oops. Danny was busy staring at Chica dripping all over Mark as if he was torn between cooing or throwing up. Barry stepped forward. “Mark. I think we need to have a talk.”

“…fuck-a-doodle.”

**Author's Note:**

> Aka the story of how Mark’s corrupted beans got spilled everywhere because Chica wanted to chase bunnies off a cliff. I decided she was an Alexandrite.
> 
> Also, yes, the song started out as Danny singing about Mark and the corrupted gem (Chica). But it sort of turned into more of a mutual admiration/belief thing between Mark and Danny? It was a bonding moment. Let’s put it like that. I highly suggest listening to [this version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clJk8a5q1Lo) when reading that part of the story.
> 
> **HC #1:** Mark can’t heal with his singing, but he can resonate with Danny to produce faster, more powerful effects. Their fusion does it automatically.
> 
> **HC #2:** Mark is still technically corrupted but it’s not visible. Danny couldn’t heal him fully, but it’s enough that he won’t distort his form. He can also summon his weapon (with considerably more effort needed than he used to) and use the warp pads (with some love taps).


End file.
